Why did F.E. De Groot cut the ribbon before the official opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge?

F.E. De Groot’s act of cutting the ribbon at the Sydney Harbour Bridge opening on March 19, 1932, was a highly symbolic political protest.1

At the time, New South Wales was experiencing a severe political crisis during the Great Depression. The Labor premier, Jack Lang, had alienated wealthy and conservative groups by threatening to repudiate overseas debt and clashing with the Commonwealth government. In response, these groups supported the New Guard, a semi-militaristic movement of which De Groot was a member. By cutting the ribbon before the premier could perform the official duty, De Groot staged a public act of defiance against Lang’s administration.1